'Batman v Superman' Knightmare Scene Finally Explained

Batman v Superman has had the biggest opening and the biggest drop in history, which is good and bad, I guess. The film is truly one of the most polarizing films in history, with many people praising it and others tearing it apart. One of the scenes that has drawn severe criticism or praise, depending on what side you are on, is the Knightmare sequence.

This is, of course, that sequence in which we see Batman wearing a freaking coat in the middle of an apocalyptic wasteland. We then see him be attacked by Superman soldiers, and what many consider to be Parademons, before being knocked out. He is then woken up in an underground bunker of sorts to be confronted by Superman. We learn that Superman is not happy with Batman's actions before ultimately punching through his chest, killing him. The next scene is Bruce Wayne seeing The Flash through some sort of wormhole, where he gives Batman a very cryptic message.

In all honestly I didn't mind the scene, but I did notice many people in my theater were utterly confused by it. I don't blame them either because you jump from a scene where Bruce is waiting for a decryption of LexCorp information into the Knightmare scene. It seems, however, that there may be an explanation from somebody who actually worked on the film.

Jay Oliva

The explanation comes from Jay Oliva, who is a storyboard artist that worked on the movie and several other DC films. His work includes story boarding Man Of Steel, The Flash TV show, the upcoming Wonder Woman film, and directing several DC animated films including Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox, which is important for this particular scene. Jay Oliva spoke about the scene during the Hall Of Justice podcast, via ScreenRant, in which he justified the scene working towards the future:

"What if what you saw was a Time Boom, a latent memory from the future when Flash comes back? If you look at the cut, he doesn’t go to sleep! He’s waiting for the [Lexcorp file decryption] and suddenly this [Knightmare sequence] comes in, and he’s jogged out of it seeing his own death. And what does he see? He sees Flash. And if you’re a DC fan, you know what’s happening. You know that Flash going back in time, that memory is now coming back to him… mind you, it’s jumbled."

I know that might have confused you a bit more if you're new to these terms or haven't seen Flashpoint Paradox. The thing that Jay is getting at is that any sudden change in time creates a sort of ripple effect throughout. If what Jay is saying is correct, this would mean that The Flash going back in time would create a shockwave through time. Could this mean the shockwave or an earlier one might be responsible for the events we saw in the Knightmare? It is possible the Flash prevented the events in the Knightmare sequence by going back? But could he have set them up for something worse, like Darkseid?

Jay Oliva also went on to say that he isn't totally sure what Snyder has in store for Justice League, so it's safe to say a Flashpoint type story isn't such a crazy idea now. If, in fact, Jay is wrong and this isn't a Flashpoint scenario, then what does the Knightmare sequence mean to the future of the DCEU? It could be one of two possibilities, in my opinion: Either it was all paranoia from Bruce's side or this is foreshadowing for what's to come. I would lean more towards the foreshadowing, and this would easily set up an Injustice movie of sorts, where Superman is brainwashed by Darkseid.

Nonetheless, the future of the DCEU seems to be shaky, and many people are outraged over it but others love it. We aren't totally sure what direction they will take Justice League or even, for that matter, what story they will use. Jay does make me want a Flashpoint-style story, however, but only time will tell what comes next.

What do you think the Knightmare sequence's significance will be in 'Justice LeaguePart One' and 'Two'?